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Trooper On Trial For Fatal Crash Breaks Down On The Stand

PLYMOUTH (CBS) - A suspended State Police trooper broke down on the stand Monday when recalling the September night in 2013 when he was involved in a crash that left a mother and daughter dead.

John Basler, 28, admitted to having four beers at a party, then driving towards his house in Kingston. But in Plymouth, on a back road, he was hit by a car driven by 60-year-old Susan Macchi. She and her daughter Juliet died in the crash.

Basler crash
Cars involved in fatal Plymouth crash shown in court (WBZ-TV)

Basler's blood alcohol content was .19, twice the legal limit, but State Police experts have testified it was Macchi's car that crossed the center line by two to three feet, hitting the off-duty trooper.

Macchi
Susan and Juliet Macchi (WBZ-TV)

Police say Macchi's car was traveling 60 miles per hour, and Basler was going about 80 miles per hour in a 40 mile per hour zone.

Basler is charged with two counts of vehicular homicide.

The jury will begin deliberating on Tuesday.

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